Foundation garment



p 25, 1951 J. v. HOLLAR 2,569,379

FOUNDATION GARMENT Filed Dec. 31, 1948 CTIIIII'JIEZZZIZZZ'I.

INVENTOR.

LIUHN V HULLAR.

ATTORNEY. i

Patented Sept. 25, 1951 FOUNDATION GARMENT John V. Hollar, Bridgeport, Conn, assignor to The La Resista Corset Company, Bridgeport, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application December 31, 1948, Serial No. 68,539

= The present invention relates to an improvement in foundation garments, such as corsets and the like, and is an improvement of the invention disclosed in the patent to George E. I-Iawes for Corsets, or the like, No. 1,837,865, granted December 22, 1931, reissued August 7, 1934, Reissue No. 19,264. In this patent there is disclosed a garment including front and back portions each consisting of separately formed upper and lower vertically offset overlapped telescoping parts and relatively wide elastic side portions interposed as laterally yieldable nontelescopic spacers between the front and back portions. According to the invention disclosed in this patent, the upper and lower parts of the front and back portions are adapted to maintain independently their positions on the body upon relative movement of the body below the waistline, whereby the overlapping portions have telescoping action to expand and contract the front and back portions when the surface of the front and back of the wearer are lengthened and shortened upon assuming different postures, as for instance standing, sitting, or bending forwardly or backwardly.

The upper edge of the lower telescoping part of the back of the garment, as disclosed in this patent, is convexly curved or arched upwardly between its anchored ends in substantially parallel spaced relation to the concavely curved lower edge of the upper telescoping part of the back, andafter the back is expanded, as for instance when assuming a sitting posture, its upper edge moves downwardly at its central portion with respect to its anchored ends so that it assumes a substantially horizontal position. In order to insure that the portion of the lower back part of the garment overlapped by the upper back part has free sliding movement, it has been necessary to provide vertical stays in the lower part extending substantially to its upper edge, these stays giving to the lower part suflicient stability so that it will slide freely below the overlapping upper part, without wrinkling or crowding of the material, and supporting it against collapse. 7

' It is an object of the present invention to provide a garment wherein the vertical stays heretofore found necessary in the lower back part may be dispensed with, while still insuring a free sliding movement between the overlapping parts ,of the back, and to this end it is proposed to provide the lower back part with an upper edge of substantially concave or downwardly arched form, so that the lower back part-has a vertical 5 Claims. (01. 2-30) height at its center line substantially less than the vertical height of its anchored side edges. In order to allow for the downward and upward movement of the lower part of the back relatively to its anchored side edges, as the back is expanded and contracted, I propose to provide at the upper portion of the lower back part elastic suspension means extending inwardly from the anchored side edges, and whereby the upper edge will lengthen as the central portion of the back downwardly and shorten as it moves upwardly, the elastic means being such that the back of the garment is held snugly against the surface of the body as the back expands and contracts.

It is further proposed to provide such elastic means in the formof substantially triangular shaped inserts secured along each of the substantially vertical side edges of the back portion, these inserts each being stretchable in downwardly and inwardly inclined directions toward the vertical center line of the back, the degree of stretch between their relatively long upper ends and their relatively short lower ends being substantially porportionate to the differential movement of the lower back portion between its vertical center line and its vertical marginal edge portions. It is also proposed to anchor the vertical side edges of the elastic inserts along vertically stabilized lines at the side edges of the back portion, these stabilized edges being disposed along lines which coincide with the relatively neutral areas of the body that are found at the sides of the body in the region of the waistline, these areas remaining in a substantially fixed relation while other parts of the body move with respect to them.

' With the above and other objects in view, an embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, and this embodiment will be hereinafter more fully described with reference thereto, and the invention will be finally pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a foundation garment, according to the illustrated exemplary embodiment of the invention, disposed in flattened relation, and with the side opening shown in its open position.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation, partially broken away, and also showing the garment disposed in flattened relation.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view showing the inner side of the back of the garment.

Fig. 4is aqperspective view from the rear,

section consisting of a central panel 10 and;

side panels I l-l I of non-elastic materialsecured together along vertically extending seams l2-l2,

and to the upper edges of whichzare.:secured.-.thec

lower edges of the brassiere cup .portions' l3-I3: Centrally of the lower edge of the central panel there is provided an elastic horizontallystretchable triangular gusset insert [4. The central panel [3 is preferably lined and has sub:- stantially vertically arranged stays l5-l5 securedto the lining beneath the-centralpanel.

The front section is secured betweenthe for:- ward' edges of horizontally elastic side sections Iii-[55in line with the side panels H-H and upper non-elastic side sections ll-I l in line with the brassiere cup portions l3-l3 being secured at one side along the entire length of these forward edges by a seam I8, and being secured at the other edge by'a seam |9- extending between the lower edge of the garment and a point substantially spaced below the waistline, the cooperating edgesabove the seam I9 being provided with suitable fastener means, so that these edges may be'opened and closed;for the purposeyofitaking off and putting on the garment. The fastener means consists of'a zipper fastener 20 extending from the upper end of: the seam I9 to a. point a short distance above the waistline, this zipper fastener being provided with a pair of hook and eye fasteners 2| for preliminary fastening of-the garment, and above the zipper fastener in the brassiere part of thegarment there'are provided hook and eye fasteners 22 extending to theupper edge of the garment.

The back section of the garment, with which the present invention is particularly concerned, comprises generally a lower panelpart, 23, constituting the back of the corset structure of? the garment, and an upper panel part 2-4, constituting at its upper portion the back of the brassiere structure of the garment, and overlapping at", its lower portion the upper portion. of; the lower panel part 23 as will presently be more fully pointed out. The overlapping back panel'parts 23-and 24 are secured along substantially vertically disposed seams 25-25 to .the rearward edges of the side sections Iii-l6 and ll-Ii'L. The upper portions of these seams are given vertical stability by means of stays 26-26. which are preferably provided in pairs along each seam and extend substantially from the upper edgeof'. the garment to points slightly below the'lower edge of the upper back panel part 24 where its ends are joined to the seams 25-25. These stayszare enclosed and secured by covering tapes..2'l-"2l which extend the full length of the seams 25-25. These stiffened portions of theseams 25-25 are within the neutral areas or spheres of the garment which overlie the surfaces of the body-in the regions at or contiguous to the waistlinezat each side of the back, these neutral areas or spheres being relatively immovable as other parts of the body move with respect to them. By disposing stiffened portions in relation to these regions they thus constitute relatively fixed anchor lines with respect to which certain portions of the garment have relative movement, as will presently be more fully pointed out.

The upper back part 24 preferably consists of a center portion 24a of non-elastic fabric and two side portions 2411-2412 of non-elastic fabric secured along vertical seams 28-28 which are stiffened throughout their length by stays 29-29. A triangular horizontally elastic gusset insert 30 is provided at the upper edge of the central portion 2411 so that lateral yieldability is imparted tothe brassiere structure of the garment. The lower edgeof the upper back panel 24 is upwardly arched between its ends along a concavely curved line; thezends-ofthis lower edge being anchored along the seams 25 and the arched lower edge being free of. attachment between the anchored ends. This lower edge is below the waistline indicated, approximately by the line W in Fig. 2 and above the hiplineiindicated approximately by the line H, its anchored ends being at or in proximity to the hipline.

The lower back part 23 is preferably formed of two pieces of. non-elastic material secured together along a vertical centrally disposed seam line 31 and'along its lower marginal portionis preferably reinforced-by an inner liner 32 secured along-its upper edge by a line of stitching 33. The upper'marginal portion of the lower back part extends beneath'the lower marginal. portion of the upper back part 24, where its upper edge consists of downwardly arched concavelycurved intermediate portion 34, disposed-approximately at the waistline in the. normal position of the garment, anddownwardly and outwardly inclined end portions 35-35 extending from-the ends-of the central portion 34 to the sideseams 25-at points a short distance above the anchored ends of the lower edge of the upper back part. Ex tending between and secured to the edges 35 and the vertical seams; 25-are a pair of triangular elastic inserts 33-36, the upper edges 31-31 of: which extend in upwardly and'outwardly inclined direction from the ends of the intermediate edge portion 34 to the seams 25 at pointssubv stantially above the waistline. The elastic'inserts 36 are formed of one-way stretch elastic fabric material, arranged so that it is stretchable in parallel relation to the upper inclined edges 3:! and in substantially perpendicular, direction tothe inclined edges 35.

Shoulder straps 38 and garters 39are secured respectively to the upper and lower edges of the garment.

Asshown in'Fig. 4 the garment is in its normal position while in a standing posture. In this position the elastic inserts 36 may be under a slight tension, due to the fitting of the garment about the body, suflicient to maintain the-upper portion of the lower back part 23 insnug non-. wrinkled relation beneath the lower portion of the upper back part which overlaps it. Itis pointed out that the upper back part 24 is adapted to gird and engage the upper part of the back above the hip lineand at and above the waistline of the wearer, while the lower back part 23 is adapted to gird and engage the'back and hips below the waist, theoverlapped portions of;these parts being disposed in the neutral area orsphere in the region of the waistline. Asthe surfaces of the body aboveand below the waistline lengthen and shorten upon assuming different'postures, the upper and lower portions of the garment remain substantially in their. respective positionsxuponthe upper and lower parts-of. the

body, the lengthening and shortening causing the overlapping portions to telescopically slide with respect to each other. Thus when assuming a sitting posture, as seen in Fig. 5, the lower back part 23 is drawn downwardly as the surface of the body below the waistline lengthens, the elastic inserts 36 stretchingwith this movement so that the upper portion of the lower back part is elastically suspended and its upper edge is lengthened proportionately as the lower back part moves downwardly.

As is clearly shown in Fig. the center line of the lower back part moves downwardly to a greater extent than the portions of the back at each side of the center line, there being practically no downward movement along the seam lines 25, and the diagonal arrangement of the direction of stretch of the elastic inserts 36 is such that the length of the stretchable material gradually decreases from the edge 31 to the apex of the triangle formed by the edge 35 and the seamline 25. Thus as the lower back part moves upwardly or downwardly the stretching of the inserts 36 is substantially proportional to the difierential in movement between the central and side portions of the lower back part, thus providing for even expanding and contracting movement without any tendency to wrinkle or crowd the material. The anchoring of the edges of the inserts 36 along the vertically stabilized seam lines 25 permits the relative movement of the parts of the back to take place without imposing localized strains upon the front portions of the garment, the strain being distributed over wide areas of the garment.

I have illustrated and described a preferred and satisfactory embodiment of the invention, but it will be understood that changes may be made therein within the spirit and scope thereof, as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

' l. A foundation garment, comprising front and side sections, and a back section secured at its side edges to said side sections along substantially vertical side seams arranged to overlie the body of the wearer at each side along lines extending from points substantially above the waist line to points substantially below the hip line, said back section comprising upper and lower parts telescopically overlapped in the region of the waist line with the lower portion of said upper part slidably overlying the upper portion of said lower part, said upper part adapted to engage the body above the hip line and at the waist line and having its lower edge free of attachment between its ends, said ends being anchored to said seam lines at points substantially coincident to the hip line with the intermediate portion of said lower edge spaced a substantial distance below the waist line, said lower part adapted to engage the back and hips below the waist line and having its upper edge arched downwardly and free of attachment between its ends, said last mentioned ends being anchored to said seam lines at points spaced a substantial distance above the waist line with the intermediate portion of said upper edge nor-- mally disposed substantially coincident to the waist line, the upper edge of said'lower part andits upper portion underlying said upper part being circumferentially elastic at least in part whereby said upper edge is adapted to lengthen in increasingly arched relation between its anchored ends as relative telescopic expansionmovement takes place between said upper and lower parts, and is adapted to shorten between its anchored ends as relative telescopic contraction movement takes place between said upper and lower parts.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1, further characterized in that said lower edge of said upper part is arched upwardly between its ends.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1, further characterized in that said side seams have stifiening stay means extending at least from the anchored ends of the lower edge of said upper part to the anchored ends of the upper edge of said lower part.

4. The invention as defined in claim 1, further characterized in that said lower part includes a pair of triangular elastic inserts respectively at each side of the vertical center, each having an upper edge forming part of the upper edge of said lower part, and each being stretchable in parallel relation to its upper edge.

5. The invention as defined in claim 1, urther characterized in that said lower part includes a pair of triangular elastic inserts respectively at each side of the vertical center, each having an outer edge secured along one of said side seams, an inner edge inclined upwardly and inwardly from a point substantially contiguous to the hip line, and an upper edge inclined downwardly and inwardly from a point spaced a substantial distance above the waist line and forming part of the upper edge of said lower part, and each being stretchable in downwardly and inwardly inclined direction parallel to its upper edge.

JOHN V. HOLLAR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,615,634 Kops Jan. 25, 1927 1,837,865 Hawes Dec. 22, 1931 2,158,506 Kaupp May 16, 1939 2,172,210 Lewis Sept. 5, 1939 2,299,903 Kahn Oct. 27, 1942 2,366,026 Hawes Dec. 26, 1944 

